Perlia: The Last Olympian
by Annabeth Chase-Jackson14
Summary: Prt3 in Perlia's adventure in taking on the Great Prophecy. Percy and Thalia are in it together-romantically and by law through THE prophecy where they're both the kids of it. Will romantic feelings flying from a grey eyed girl and red head interfere? Percy and Thalia's cooperation is necessary for the survival of the world. If things get bumpy for them can they still win this war?
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone, lovely to be writing again! I'd like to thank you all and remember, I don't own PJO.**

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**Thalia's P.O.V.**

Missions. That's all I've been up to lately.

Annabeth had gone back to the hunters since the gods have been pretty occupied lately. She's leading her hunters in their own missions against the titans but since then, no one has heard of them since. Iris Messaging wasn't exactly reliable because Iris, goddess of the rainbow, was busy with the load of messages people wanted to send. There were more important things to be discussed over IMs apparently. Being a child of the prophecy score you no bonus points in getting your calls accepted. Curse her, she'd taken a drachma from me when I tried to contact Annabeth for the seventh time in a row.

Percy was called to do a few even though he was spending the summer at home with his mom, Paul… and Rachel. From what I know he's been trying to live a normal life by spending time with her.

I don't like that.

That red headed heiress liked Percy and I could feel it. No matter how dense Percy was, she's probably dropped the biggest of hints right into his lap.

She better stay away from his lap.

"To your right, Sparky!" Clarisse shouted to me and I folded myself into a ball and rolled right into the path of the cyclops. I attempted to strike upwards at him with my spear but he ready for that. He swiftly kicked me in the thigh sending me flying backwards. My shoulder hit the brick of a building and just as Clarisse charged the monster and stabbed him with her electric spear I heard sirens. As the cyclops turned into dust she glanced at me with a look saying _We need to split_.

After running on a sore leg we took a rest once we'd gotten back to a part of Brooklyn I knew. We were near Percy's apartment.

"We need a rest," Clarisse huffed placing her hands behind her head.

"Come, on. I know a place." I told her and began walking in the direction my thoughts had been.

"A safe house?" Clarisse asked with a sliver of hope in her voice.

"Just about," I answered.

When we got there Clarisse shot me a confused look as we approached the apartment building. I pressed the buzzer temporarily ignoring her puzzled face.

_Yes?_ a man asked. This had to be a new doorman. The last one had a more nasal voice.

"I'm here to see Sally Jackson," I answered and a knowing look made its way across Clarisse's face.

_May I ask who you are?_

"Thalia," I answered.

_Last name?_ he obnoxiously asked. My last name caused more pain than usual lately because of my mother's location.

"Are you writing a book? Planning on internet stalking me? Just tell Sally that Thalia is here." I snapped. He said nothing else and after a moment or so we heard a buzz of the door being unlocked.

Walking in I saw the doorman standing next to his desk in the small lobby.

"I didn't know Percy had a girlfriend. I honestly thought he and Rachel were seeing each other," the man in a slightly apologetic way. My fists clenched, and I decided I definitely did not like the doorman.

"He's not who you should be mad at," Clarisse said in a hushed tone. We made our way to the elevator.

"Jackson is getting beat down when I see him." I said through clenched teeth. When we arrived at his mom's apartment she was already there with the door open.

"Thalia, sweety how are you?" she asked hugging me lightly then pulled back examining my wounds. Then turning to Clarisse she smiled warmly, "Come on in, girls! Hi, I'm Percy's mom, Sally." We walked in and she ushered us to the kitchen where she pulled a first aid kit from under the sink. After Clarisse introduced herself, Sally cleaned out wounds then gave us a little piece of ambrosia to nibble on.

"Where's Percy?" I asked her. She looked at me with tender eyes. "He's out at Rachel's. Thalia, you know I love you so believe me when I say that he loves you too. He uses Rachel as an escape from the world of the gods. She's an easy going friend and he just needs to retreat to that while he can." she said in a way that sounds like she's defending him, but knowing Sally I know she's just telling how it is.

"I'm being subjected to the same prophecy too and I'm not running to any easy girls." I mumbled. Sally tried to hide her smile.

"I said easy-going," she reminded me. Then clearing her throat she asked, "Now why are you two girls away from camp?"

I sighed. Sally wasn't going to like the news at all. "Grover's missing. He's been silent for too long."

Sally leaned against the counter. Grover had been Percy's best friend since the sixth grade and even saved his life by bringing him to camp.

"No, not poor Grover," she said. "Even after all he's accomplished he didn't come this far to not see it all through. He's fine. Percy's fine, so Grover has to be too? Their empathy link?" she asked us for reassurance. I'd been giving that a lot of thought. Percy had brought that up when we ran into each other at camp right when I came back from a mission and he was leaving back home from one. He still felt a faint hum and was positive that he wasn't dead.

"He's definitely alive. We're just trying to find him." I answered as best as I could.

"I'll be on the lookout too." Sally said.

I smiled thinking about how some mortals too were involved with this war between the titans and the gods. Then my smile shifted into a frown. My mom was also in this war but she was, knowingly or unknowingly fighting on the wrong side.

Just as I was beginning to ask Sally something about Percy the door to the apartment was being banged on.

"No one buzzed up, must be Percy!" Sally said and swiftly made her way to the door. I let my heart race at the thought of seeing him but it came to a crashing stop when I saw the frizzy red hair of a girl duck her way into the apartment, eyes locked on Sally.

"Rachel, what's-" Sally asked.

"It was time," she answered. Sally's face became expressionless except for the glimmer of sadness in her eye.

"He's gone off with Charles Beckendorf for their mission." Sally said what we all had guessed.

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**Percy's P.O.V.**

It was almost dark by the time we spotted our target. The _Princess Andromeda_ glowed on the horizon- a huge cruise ship lit up yellow and white. From a distance, you'd think it was just a party ship, not the headquarters for the Titan lord. Then as you get closer, you might notice a giant figurehead- a dark haired maiden in a Greek chiton, wrapped in chains with a look of horror on her face, as if she could smell the stench of monsters she was being forced to carry.

Seeing the ship again twisted my stomach in knots. I was already having an uncomfortable ride seeing as I was leaning back to keep myself on Blackjack, my pegasus, without having to wrap my arms around Beckendorf. Now seeing the ship I'd almost died twice on heading straight towards New York, my home, was not settling well with me.

"You know what to do?" Beckendorf yelled over the wind.

I nodded. We'd done dry runs at the dockyards in New Jersey, using abandoned ships as our targets. I knew how little time we would have. I also knew this was our best chance to end Kronos' invasion before it even started.

"Blackjack, set us down on the lowest stern deck."

_Gotcha, boss,_ he said. _Man I hate seeing that boat._

Three years ago, Blackjack had been enslaved on the _Princess Andromeda_ until he'd escaped with a little help from my friends and me. I figured he'd rather have his man braided like My Little Pony than be back here again.

"Don't wait for us," I told him.

_But boss-_

"Trust me," I said. "We'll get out by ourselves."

Blackjack nose dived us toward the lowest deck at speeds so fast you wouldn't have notice us pass. When he set down, I climbed off feeling a little queasy.

_Good luck, boss_, he said. _Don't let 'em turn you into horse meat!_

With that, my old friend flew off into the night. I took my pen and uncapped it, and Riptide sprang to full size- three feet of deadly Celestial bronze glowing in the dusk.

Beckendorf pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. I thought it was a map or something. Then I realized it was a photograph. He stared at it in the dim light- the smiling face of Silena Beauregard, daughter of Aphrodite. They'd started going out last summer after years of the rest of us saying, "Duh, you two like each other!" Even with all the dangerous missions, Beckendorf had been happier this summer than I'd ever seen him.

"We'll make it back to camp," I promised.

For a second I saw worry in his eyes. Then he put on his old confident smile.

"You bet," he said. "Let's go blow Kronos back into a million pieces."

Beckendorf lead the way, and for short moment everything had gone to plan so far. Then we heard voices above us.

"I don't care what your nose says!" snarled a half human, half dog voice- a telkhine. "The last time you smelled half-blood, it turned out to be a meatloaf sandwich!"

"Meatloaf sandwiches are good!" a second voice snarled. "But this is half-blood scent, I swear. They're on board!"

"Bah, your _brain _isn't on board!"

They continued to argue and Beckendorf pointed down stairs. We descended two flights of stairs as quietly as we could. The telkhines' voices started to fade.

Finally we came to a metal hatch and Beckendorf mouthed the words, "Engine room." It was locked but Beckendorf pulled some chain cutters out of his back and split the bolt like it was made of butter.

Inside, a row of yellow turbines the size of grain silos churned and hummed. Pressure gauges and computer terminals lined the opposite wall. A telkhine was hunched over a console, but he was so involved in his work , he didn't notice us. He was about five feet tall with slick black fur and stubby little feet. He had the head of a Doberman, but his clawed hands were almost human. He growled and muttered as he tapped on his keyboard. Maybe he was messaging his friends on .

I stepped forward and he tensed, probably smelling something was wrong. He leaped sideways toward a big red alarm button, but I blocked his path. He hissed and lunged at me, but one slice of Riptide and he was monster dust.

"One down," Beckendorf said. "About five thousand to go." He tossed me a jar of thick green liquid- Greek fire, one of the most dangerous magical substances in the world. The he threw me another essential tool of demigod heroes- duct tape.

"Slap that one on the console. I'll get the turbines."

We went to work. The room was hot and humid and in no time we were drenched in sweat.

The boat kept chugging along. Being the son of Poseidon and all, I have perfect bearings at sea. Don't ask me how but I could tell we were at 40.19° North, 71.90° West, making eighteen knots, which meant the ship would arrive in New York harbor by dawn. As you can tell, this is our only chance to stop it.

I had just attached a second jar of Greek fire to the control panels when I heard pounding feet on the metal steps- so many creatures coming down the stairwell I could hear them over the engines. Not a good sign.

I locked eyes with Beckendorf. "How much longer?"

"Too long." He tapped his watch, which was our remote control detonator. "I still have to wire the receiver and prime the charges. Ten more minutes at least."

Judging from the sound of footsteps we had about ten seconds.

"I'll distract them." I said. "Meet you at the rendezvous point."

"Percy-"

"Wish me luck." I told him.

He looked like he wanted to argue. The whole idea had been to get in and out unseen. But we're going to have to improvise.

"Good luck," he said.

I charged out the door.

Thalia's P.O.V.

Sally was driving Clarisse and I back to camp. I felt guilty about going back. Percy and Beckendorf are on their mission to knock out Kronos and his army in the ocean- the ocean being a key reason as to why I wasn't chosen for that. Annabeth and the hunters were doing Zeus knows what, and I'm on my way back home.

Clarisse and I had been out for almost two weeks and have helped with the war effort while we were out too. I guess we pulled double duty while looking for Grover but still. I was holding back. To be honest, I was dead on my feet through all of this. I'd refused to let myself get a night's rest.

I'd been having dreams. They mostly consisted of my mom. You know the comic of superman? I've always related to that comic but not from the hero's side. Lex Luther's side.

My mom was Lionel Luther, the rich and powerful TV actress and news reporter. She could never love me because my birth had driven my father away. Gods couldn't be a direct part in their children's lives. They especially couldn't when it came to the Big Three and even more after the Great Prophecy was given. She hated me. Then dad came back almost a new man, more family oriented but strict. Mom had Jason and dad was forced to leave again.

Mom cursed the gods, especially Hera and took out her hate on me and Jason. I practically raised him and hid from mom's psychotic break. I swear she'd try to kill us but then would snap back to reality just as I stopped her. Finally she'd started take the medicines and started making an effort. That was only so she could let Jason go missing leaving me to blame myself.

I was having dream from the past and present. All of them had to do with her and a little of Jason. She'd say things in the dreams as if she were talking to me- other times, to herself. _My time is coming. Soon I'll be as great as the gods._

It was painstakingly clear: Luke remembered and was using my mother's biggest insecurity. Luke promised her the life of a god or more, but for what?

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	2. Chapter 2 Beckendorf

**Thanks everyone for waiting. 1) I've started my senior year, yay! 2) I'm getting a job, yay! 3) A friend of mine has taken his life. Please, if you're out there with depression or struggling with something, talk to someone. Talk to me, I'm always a message away. **

**Thanks, enjoy! **

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**Percy's P.O.V.**

How am I?

Battling a heavy weight sea champ of a crustacean, not being able to lay a blow to Kronos, and having your soul seep out of you from a cut to your shoulder from Kronos' s scythe was how my night was going.

I'll let you be the judge.

"A shame to kill you know," Kronos mused, "before the final plan unfolds. I would love to see the terror on your face when you realize how I will destroy Olympus."

"You'll never get this boat to Manhattan." My arm was throbbing. Black spots danced in my vision.

"And why would that be?" Kronos' golden eyes glittered. His face- Luke's face- seemed like a mask, unnatural and lit from behind by some evil power. "Perhaps you are counting on your friend with the explosives?"

He looked down at the pool and called, "Nakamura!"

A teenage guy in full Greek armor pushed through the crowd. His left was covered in an eye patch. I knew him, of course: Ethan Nakamura, the son of Nemesis. We'd saved his life in the Labyrinth last summer and this is how he repaid us, the little punk helped to finally raise Kronos.

"Success, my lord," Ethan called. "We found him just as we were told." Two giants came forward dragging Beckendorf. He'd had a swollen eye and cuts and bruises all over him. His armor was gone and his shirt was nearly torn off.

"No!" I yelled.

Beckendorf met my eyes. He glanced at his hand then gave me a hard stare. His hand… Is it possible he was able to arm the explosives? Surely the monsters would've dismantled them right away.

"Can we eat him now?" a monster asked.

"Soon." Kronos promised. "Are you sure he didn't get to set the explosives?"

"He was going _toward_ the engine room, my lord."

"How do you know that?"

"Er…" Ethan shifted uncomfortably. "He was headed in that direction. And he told us. His bag is still full of explosives."

So they didn't unarm the panels. The explosives were set and ready to go. Slowly, but surely, I'm beginning to understand. Beckendorf fooled them. He made it seem as if he hadn't reached the engine room yet. When he realized he was going to be captured he made it look like he had come from the opposite direction. Then convinced them he hadn't gotten to the engine room yet.

The Greek fire must still be primed! Right? But what good is it to us now? We're still on the ship and in no way ready to get off and detonate the bomb.

Kronos hesitated.

_Buy the story_, I prayed. The pain in my arm was so bad I could barely stand.

"Open his bag," Kronos ordered.

One of the giants ripped the explosives bag from Beckendorf's shoulder. He peeked inside, grunted, and turned it upside down. Panicked the monsters surged backwards. Had that bag really been full of Greek fire, we would've all blown up. But what fell out were a dozen cans of peaches.

I could hear Kronos breathing, trying to control his anger.

Where the heck did Beckendorf get the peaches?

"And did you, perhaps, send someone to actually **CHECK THE ENGINE ROOM**?"

Ethan scrambled back in terror, then turned on his heels and ran.

I cursed silently. Now we only had minutes before the bombs were disarmed. I caught Beckendorf's eyes again and silently asked a question: _How long_?

He cupped his fore finger and thumb: _zero_. There was no delay. There would be no way for us to get away far enough to detonate the charge.

Kronos turned toward me with a crooked smile. "You'll have to excuse my incompetent help, Percy Jackson. But it doesn't matter. We have you now. We've known you were coming for weeks." He held out his hand dangling a little silver bracket with a scythe charm on it.

The wound in my arm was sapping my ability to think, but I muttered, "Communication device… Spy at camp."

Kronos chuckled. "You can't count on friends, Percy. They will always let you down. Luke learned that lesson the hard way. Now drop your sword and surrender to me, or you friend dies."

Had I been in better condition, I would have had some witty remark like, _Ha! You know me better than that by now, I'm sure _or _Adios, gramps!_ Seeing how I can barely keep my eyes open and wasn't sure how I was going to save Beckendorf stopped me.

Beckendorf mouthed a word: _go_.

I shook my head. I couldn't leave him. Beckendorf raised the arm that wasn't being held slowly to his other hand.

"What issss he doing? What isss that on hisss wrissst?"

Beckendorf squeezed his eyes tight. I had no choice. I threw my sword at Kronos like a javelin. It bounced harmlessly off his chest but it did startle him. I pushed through a crowd then jumped over ship. Willing the currents to take me far away. Far from the invincible Kronos, far from the dreaded mission _**BOOM!**_- and far from the friend who I'd left to die.

**Thalia's P.O.V.**

Currently, I'm sitting in my cabin sulking. Chiron refuses to tell me about the Great Prophecy. Typhon is awake, the gods are away from Olympus, Percy has yet to return from his mission. Things are becoming too real too fast.

Iris Messages still aren't going through. I'd bet all my drachmas that Annabeth knows the Great Prophecy word from word. If I could just contact her somehow... Would she even tell me? I know she'd bend the rules to an extent for me and maybe even more for Percy.

I'm not stupid. Annabeth has some type of connection, some bond formed with Percy before he ever became my boyfriend. I love them both so much but I know Percy and I belong to each other. We are, what the Aphrodite cabin started calling us, the power couple of the century, maybe even millennia. The children of the prophecy, two children of the big three could be unstoppable.

I think that's what Luke is scared of most of all.

**Percy's P.O.V.**

Demigod dreams suck.

The thing is, they're never just dreams. They've got to be visions, omens, and all that other mystical stuff that makes my brain hurt.

I dreamed I was in a dark palace on the top of a mountain. Unfortunately, I recognized: the palace of the titans on top of Mount Othrys, otherwise known as Mount Tamalpais, in California. The main pavilion was open to the night, ringed with black Greek columns and statues of the Titans. Torchlight glowed against the black marble floor. In the center of the room, an armored giant struggled the weight of swirling funnel cloud- Atlas holding up the sky.

Two other giant men stood nearby over a brazier, studying the images in the flames.

"Quite an explosion," one said. He wore black armour studded with silver dots like a starry night. His face was covered in a war helm with ram's horn curling on either side.

"It doesn't matter," the other said. This titan was dressed in golden robes, with golden eyes like Kronos. His entire body glowed. He reminded me of Apollo, god of the sun, except the titan's light was harsher and his expressions crueller. "The gods have answered the challenge. Soon they will be destroyed."

"I will go east to marshal our forces," the golden Titan said. "Krios, you shall remain and guard Mount Othrys."

The ram horn dude grunted. "I always get the stupid jobs. Lord of the South. Lord of Constellations. Now I get to babysit Atlas while you have all the fun."

Under the whirlwind of clouds, Atlas bellowed in agony, "Let me out, curse you! I am your greatest warrior. Take my burden so I may fight!"

"Quiet!" the golden Titan roared. "You had your chance, Atlas. You failed. Kronos likes you just where you are. As for you, Krios, do your duty."

"And if you need more warriors?" Krios asked. "Our treacherous nephew in the tuxedo will not do you much good in a fight."

The golden Titan laughed. "Don't worry about him. Besides, the gods can barely handle our first little challenge. They have no idea how many others we have in store. Mark my words, in a few days' time, Olympus will be in ruins, and we will meet here again to celebrate the dawn of the Sixth Age!"

The golden Titan erupted into flames and disappeared.

"Oh, sure," Krios grumbled. "He gets to erupt into flames. I get to wear these stupid ram's horns."

The scene shifted. Now I was outside the pavilion, hiding in the shadows of a Greek column. A boy stood next to me, eavesdropping on the Titans. He had dark silky hair, pale skin, and dark clothes—my friend Nico di Angelo, the son of Hades.

He looked straight at me, his expression grim. "You see, Percy?" he whispered. "You're running out of time. Do you really think you can beat them without my plan?"

His words washed over me as cold as the ocean floor, and my dreams went black.

"Percy?" a deep voice said. My head felt like it had been microwaved in aluminum foil. I opened my eyes and saw a huge shadowy figure looming over me.

"Beckendorf?" I asked hopefully.

"No, brother."

My eyes refocused. I was looking at a Cyclops—a misshapen face, ratty brown hair, one big brown

eye full of concern. "Tyson?"

My brother broke into a toothy grin. "Yay! Your brain works!"

I wasn't so sure. My body felt weightless and cold. My voice sounded wrong. I could hear Tyson, but it was more like I was hearing vibrations inside my skull, not the regular sounds. I sat up, and a gossamer sheet floated away. I was on a bed made of silky woven kelp, in a room paneled with abalone shell. Glowing pearls the size of basketballs floated around the ceiling, providing light.

I was under water.

Now, being the son of Poseidon and all, I was okay with this. I can breathe underwater just fine, and my clothes don't even get wet unless I want them to. But it was still a bit of a shock when a hammerhead shark drifted through the bedroom window, regarded me, and then swam calmly out the opposite side of the room.

"Where—"

"Daddy's palace," Tyson said.

Under different circumstances, I would've been excited. I'd never visited Poseidon's realm, and I'd been dreaming about it for years. But my head hurt. My shirt was still speckled with burn marks from the explosion. My arm and leg wounds had healed—just being in the ocean can do that for me, given enough time—but I still felt like I'd been trampled by a Laistrygonian soccer team in cleats.

"How long—"

"We found you last night," Tyson said, "sinking through the water."

"The Princess Andromeda?"

"Went ka-boom," Tyson confirmed.

"Beckendorf was on board. Did you find . . ."

Tyson's face darkened. "No sign of him. I am sorry, brother."

I stared out the window into deep blue water. Beckendorf was supposed to go to college in the fall. He had a girlfriend, lots of friends, his whole life ahead of him. He couldn't be gone. Maybe he'd made it off the ship like I had. Maybe he'd jumped over the side . . . and what? He couldn't have survived a hundred-foot fall into the water like I could. He couldn't have put enough distance between himself and the explosion.

I knew in my gut he was dead. He'd sacrificed himself to take out the Princess Andromeda, and I had abandoned him.

I thought about my dream: the Titans discussing the explosion as if it didn't matter, Nico di Angelo warning me that I would never beat Kronos without following his plan—a dangerous idea I'd been avoiding for more than a year.

A distant blast shook the room. Green light blazed outside, turning the whole sea as bright as noon.

"What was that?" I asked.

Tyson looked worried. "Daddy will explain. Come, he is blowing up monsters."

The palace might have been the most amazing place I'd ever seen if it hadn't been in the process of getting destroyed. We swam to the end of a long hallway and shot upward on a geyser. As we rose over the rooftops I caught my breath—well, if you can catch your breath underwater.

The palace was as big as the city on Mount Olympus, with wide courtyards, gardens, and columned pavilions. The gardens were sculpted with coral colonies and glowing sea plants. Twenty or thirty buildings were made of abalone, white but gleaming with rainbow colors. Fish and octopi darted in and out of the windows. The paths were lined with glowing pearls like Christmas lights.

The main courtyard was filled with warriors—mermen with fish tails from the waist down and human

bodies from the waist up, except their skin was blue, which I'd never known before. Some were tending the wounded. Some were sharpening spears and swords. One passed us, swimming in a hurry. His eyes were bright green, like that stuff they put in glo-sticks, and his teeth were shark teeth. They don't show you stuff like that in The Little Mermaid.

Outside the main courtyard stood large fortifications—towers, walls, and antisiege weapons—but most of these had been smashed to ruins. Others were blazing with a strange green light that I knew well—Greek fire, which can burn even underwater.

Beyond this, the sea floor stretched into gloom. I could see battles raging—flashes of energy, explosions, the glint of armies clashing. A regular human would've found it too dark to see. Heck, a regular human would've been crushed by the pressure and frozen by the cold. Even my heat-sensitive eyes couldn't make out exactly what was going on.

At the edge of the palace complex, a temple with a red coral roof exploded, sending fire and debris streaming in slow motion across the farthest gardens. Out of the darkness above, an enormous form appeared—a squid larger than any skyscraper. It was surrounded by a glittering cloud of dust—at least I thought it was dust, until I realized it was a swarm of mermen trying to attack the monster. The squid descended on the palace and swatted its tentacles, smashing a whole column of warriors. Then a brilliant

arc of blue light shot from the rooftop of one of the tallest buildings. The light hit the giant squid, and the monster dissolved like food coloring in water.

"Daddy," Tyson said, pointing to where the light had come from.

"He did that?" I suddenly felt more hopeful. My dad had unbelievable powers. He was the god of the sea. He could deal with this attack, right? Maybe he'd let me help.

"Have you been in the fight?" I asked Tyson in awe. "Like bashing heads with your awesome Cyclops strength and stuff?"

Tyson pouted, and immediately I knew I'd asked a bad question, "I have been . . . fixing weapons," he mumbled. "Come. Let's go find Daddy."

I know this might sound weird to people with, like, regular parents, but I'd only seen my dad four or five times in my life, and never for more than a few minutes. The Greek gods don't exactly show up for their kids' basketball games. Still, I thought I would recognize Poseidon on sight.

I was wrong.

I was searching for a big guy with a good tan and a black beard, wearing Bermuda shorts and a Hawaiian shirt.

There was nobody like that. One guy was a merman with two fish tails instead of one. His skin was green, his armor studded with pearls. His black hair was tied in a ponytail, and he looked young—though it's hard to tell with non-humans. They could be a thousand years old or three. Standing next to him was an old man with a bushy white beard and gray hair. His battle armor seemed to weigh him down. He had green eyes and smile wrinkles around his eyes, but he wasn't smiling now. He was studying the map and

leaning on a large metal staff. To his right stood a beautiful woman in green armor with flowing black hair and strange little horns like crab claws. And there was a dolphin—just a regular dolphin, but it was staring at the map intently.

"Delphin," the old man said. "Send Palaemon and his legion of sharks to the western front. We have to neutralize those leviathans."

The dolphin spoke in a chattering voice, but I could understand it in my mind: Yes, lord! It sped away.

I looked in dismay at Tyson, then back at the old man.

It didn't seem possible, but . . . "Dad?" I asked.

The old man looked up. I recognized the twinkle in his eyes, but his face . . . he looked like he'd aged forty years.

"Hello, Percy."

"What—what happened to you?" After saying it, I realized that's not socially acceptable to say to anyone, especially a god. Tyson nudged me shaking his head so hard I thought it would fall off. It was weird to have my baby cyclops brother telling me I did a "no-no."

Thankfully, Poseidon didn't look offended.

"It's alright, Tyson." he said. "Percy, excuse my appearance, but the war has been hard on me."

"But you're immortal," I said quietly. "You can look… anyway you want."

"I reflect the state of realm," he said. "And right now that state is quite grim. Percy, I should introduce you- I'm afraid you just missed my lieutenant Delphin, god of the dolphins. This is my, er, wife, Amphitrite. My dear-"

The lady in green armor stared at me coldly, then crossed her arms and said, "Excuse me, my lord. I am needed in the battle."

She swam away.

I felt pretty awkward, but I guess I couldn't blame her. I'd never thought about it much, but my dad had an immortal wife. All his romances with mortals, including with my mom… well, Amphitrite probably didn't like that much.

Poseidon cleared his throat. "Yes, well . . . and this is my son Triton. Er, my other son."

"Your son and heir," the green dude corrected. His double fish tails swished back and forth. He smiled at me, but there was no friendliness in his eyes. "Hello, Perseus Jackson. Come to help at last?"

He acted like I was late or lazy. If you can blush underwater, I probably did.

"Tell me what to do," I said.

Triton smiled like that was a cute suggestion—like I was a slightly amusing dog that had barked for him or something. He turned to Poseidon. "I will see to the front line, Father. Don't worry. I will not fail."

He nodded politely to Tyson. How come I didn't get that much respect? Then he shot off into the water.

Poseidon sighed. He raised his staff, and it changed into his regular weapon—a huge three-pointed trident. The tip glowed with blue light, and the water around it boiled with energy.

"I'm sorry about that," he told me.

A huge sea serpent appeared from above us and spiraled down toward the roof. It was bright orange with a fanged mouth big enough to swallow a gymnasium.

Hardly looking up, Poseidon pointed his trident at the beast and zapped it with blue energy. Ka-boom! The monster burst into a million goldfish, which all swam off in terror.

"My family is anxious," Poseidon continued as if nothing had happened. "The battle against Oceanus is going poorly."

He pointed to the edge of the mosaic. With the butt of his trident he tapped the image of a merman larger than the rest, with the horns of a bull. He appeared to be riding a chariot pulled by crawfish, and instead of a sword he wielded a live serpent.

"Oceanus," I said, trying to remember. "The Titan of the sea?"

Poseidon nodded. "He was neutral in the first war of gods and Titans. But Kronos has convinced him to fight. This is . . . well, it's not a good sign. Oceanus would not commit unless he was sure he could pick the winning side."

"He looks stupid," I said, trying to sound upbeat. "I mean, who fights with a snake?"

"Daddy will tie it in knots," Tyson said firmly.

Poseidon smiled, but he looked weary. "I appreciate your faith. We have been at war almost a year now. My powers are taxed. And still he finds new forces to throw at me—sea monsters so ancient I had forgotten about them."

I heard an explosion in the distance. About half a mile away, a mountain of coral disintegrated under the weight of two giant creatures. I could dimly make out their shapes. One was a lobster. The other was a giant humanoid like a Cyclops, but he was surrounded by a flurry of limbs. At first I thought he wearing a bunch of giant octopi. Then I realized they were his own arms—a hundred flailing, fighting arms.

"Briares!" I said.

I was happy to see him, but he looked like he was fighting for his life. He was the last of his kind—a Hundred-Handed One, cousin of the Cyclopes. We'd saved him from Kronos's prison last summer, and I knew he'd come to help Poseidon, but I hadn't heard of him since.

"He fights well," Poseidon said. "I wish we had a whole army like him, but he is the only one."

I watched as Briares bellowed in rage and picked up the lobster, which thrashed and snapped its pincers. He threw it off the coral mountain, and the lobster disappeared into the darkness. Briares swam after it, his hundred arms spinning like the blades of a motorboat.

"Percy, we may not have much time," my dad said. "Tell me of your mission. Did you see Kronos?"

I told him everything. I choked up a bit when it came to Beckendorf's part of it all. Seeing the battle down here, though, I realized Beckendorf was far from being the first death in this war. I had never felt so angry and helpless.

"You've bought our side some time." Poseidon said.

"There were demigods on that ship," I said, thinking of the kid I'd seen in the stairwell. Somehow I'd allowed myself to concentrate on the monsters and Kronos. I'd convinced myself that destroying their ship was all right because they were evil, they were sailing to attack my city, and besides, they couldn't really be permanently killed. Monsters just vaporized and re-formed eventually. But demigods…

Poseidon put his hand on my shoulder. "Percy, there were only a few demigod warriors aboard that

ship, and they all chose to battle for Kronos. Perhaps some heeded your warning and escaped. If they did not… they chose their path."

"They were brainwashed!" I said. "Now they're dead and Kronos is still alive. That's supposed to make me feel better?"

I glared at the mosaic—little tile explosions destroying tile monsters. It seemed so easy when it was just a picture.

Tyson put his arm around me. If anybody else had tried that, I would've pushed him away, but Tyson was too big and stubborn. He hugged me whether I wanted it or not. "Not your fault, brother. Kronos does not explode good. Next time we will use a big stick."

"Percy," my father said. "Beckendorf's sacrifice wasn't in vain. You have scattered the invasion force. New York will be safe for a time, which frees the other Olympians to deal with the bigger threat."

"The bigger threat?" I thought about what the golden Titan had said in my dream: The gods have answered the challenge. Soon they will be destroyed.

A shadow passed over my father's face. "You've had enough sorrow for one day. Ask Chiron when you return to camp."

"Return to camp? But you're in trouble here. I want to help!"

"You can't, Percy. Your job is elsewhere."

I couldn't believe I was hearing this. I looked at Tyson for backup.

My brother chewed his lip. "Daddy . . . Percy can fight with a sword. He is good."

"I know that," Poseidon said gently.

"Dad, I can help," I said. "I know I can. You're not going to hold out here much longer."

A fireball launched into the sky from behind the enemy lines. I thought Poseidon would deflect it or something, but it landed on the outer corner of the yard and exploded, sending mermen tumbling through the water. Poseidon winced as if he'd just been stabbed.

"Return to camp," he insisted. "And tell Chiron it is time."

"For what?"

"You and Thalia must hear the prophecy. The entire prophecy."


End file.
